McMurray tops qualifying

Roundup

February 20, 2010

Jamie McMurray has gone from winning the Daytona 500 to sitting on the pole in California.

After a whirlwind week of appearances and interviews as the champion of NASCAR's season opener and biggest race, McMurray got back into the cockpit of his No. 1 Chevrolet on Friday and qualified first with a lap of 183.744 mph at the two-mile superspeedway in Fontana, Calif.

"I am so amazed at the week I've had, and then to come here to be able to be on the pole," McMurray said. "I really can't believe it. It's just pretty awesome."

McMurray captured his fourth career pole, his first at California, and will be joined on the front row by Earnhardt Ganassi teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who ran a lap of 183.477 mph to qualify second.

Clint Bowyer qualified third in another Chevy, which has an engine also built by Earnhardt-Childress Racing, like the ones in McMurray and Montoya's cars.

Kasey Kahne was fourth in his No. 9 Ford, followed by Dave Blaney in a Toyota. The highest-qualifying Dodge was Sam Hornish Jr. in eighth.

Matt Kenseth, who won at California the last two Februarys, qualified 20th. Kenseth hasn't won a race since opening last season with victories at Daytona and California and this week changed crew chiefs.

Roush Fenway drivers have won the past five February races at California, with Kenseth winning three of the past four. Greg Biffle won in 2005 and Carl Edwards went to victory lane three years ago. Edwards qualified 31st, five spots ahead of Biffle.

When McMurray got to the track Friday morning, he described it as "just a different feeling that I've ever had in the garage area."

After all the responsibilities that came with winning at Daytona, which he said he definitely enjoyed, McMurray still looked forward to getting back into the car. He was feeling even better after he won the pole.

Kenseth wanted change

Matt Kenseth says it became obvious that something had to change when his crew members were becoming too much like him.

"You guys say I don't show emotion sometimes. I kind of felt like the whole group was sort of like that," Kenseth said Friday, explaining an unexpected crew chief change made after only one race. "I just felt like it needed something to throw a spark in the thing."

Back in California where Kenseth got his last victory a year ago, Todd Parrott replaces Drew Blickensderfer atop the No. 17 Ford pit box this weekend.

After Blickensderfer became his crew chief last year, Kenseth won at Daytona and California to become the first driver since 1997 to win the first two races of the season. That momentum didn't carry over because Kenseth hasn't won since, and missed the Chase for the Cup championship for the first time.

But instead of making a change during the offseason, Kenseth made the move after an eighth-place finish at Daytona last weekend, when he managed a top-10 finish after running in the middle of the pack most of Sunday's race.

"We were just missing something on the team," Kenseth said. "I didn't feel the way we operated at Daytona that we could win races and win championships."

Kenseth took the blame for the timing of the switch, explaining that team owner Jack Roush asked him at the end of last season if any changes needed to be made. At the time, Kenseth felt like everything was OK and that Blickensderfer deserved the benefit of a full season and full offseason.

Danica trying to figure out stock cars

Danica Patrick says the tough part for her getting ready for another NASCAR race is that she still isn't sure how things are "supposed to feel" in a stock car.

The open-wheel star gets another chance at 5 p.m. today at California after her Nationwide debut ended when she got caught up a 12-car accident just past the halfway mark at Daytona.

Her goal this weekend is to finish the race. She qualified 20th for today's race.

Patrick says other drivers have been "very very open and helpful with her." But she says she hasn't raced enough to know whether they're playing nice and fair during races.